Driving Age in UAE
- Petra
- Nov 23, 2025
- 2 min read
When the amended UAE driving licence regulations were released late last year, headlines rushed to highlight a dramatic change. The driving age was to be lowered from 18 to 17, and people could now begin training earlier on than the earlier 17 years and six months limit.
An example of a headline about this policy and the impact
Since then, many children from ages 16 and a half to 17 have gone straight to driving schools to register, only to be turned away. Parents are frustrated, students are confused, and everyone is asking the same thing: If 17-year-olds can now supposedly get licences, why is every driving school refusing them?
Here we will break down the issues in the law and how it is being reported.
Official laws
Before the new legislation, the rules for driving licenses for cars were as follows:
You may open a file at a driving school and begin training for your license at 17 years and six months
You may receive your license at 18 years old
When new federal regulations were announced, the official change was that people could now receive their license at 17 years old.
New update from the federal website
With this update, people assumed that the same rules would apply where training could begin 6 months before the age a license could be received. However, this is not mentioned anywhere in the legislation, so people could still only begin their training at 17 years old.
Driving schools decisions
Although we see that the age to open a file is not as young as once thought, it is still younger than before. So why are 17 year olds getting turned down when asked for driving lessons?
Driving schools have confirmed they have not received any federal directives to implement these new laws yet. So although technically, according to the law, they should be able to begin driving, schools must err on the side of caution and cannot offer these 17 year olds lessons until they turn 17 years six months.
Excerpt from an interview with a driving institute
17 year olds can still open files, meaning they can access materials to study for the theoretical section of the driving test. However, they are not permitted to work with a driving instructor.
The real impact
There are, however, some people who this law effect. 17 year olds are able to drive motorcycles and vehicles for people of determination, as they have been for years now. However, before this legislation, they could only begin training at 17 years and six months, reducing the effectiveness of the lowered driving age.
This made the previous system impractical and encouraged untrained riding, leading to high rates of motorcycle accidents (there are an average of about 50 deaths and 1000 injuries from motorcycle accidents yearly in the UAE.) This legislation is an attempt to help reduce these issues.
If you are still unclear on what you or your child's situation is regarding these laws, you can contact the official transport authority for your emirate (RTA, ITC, etc.), or contact multiple driving schools to hear a variety of opinions. However, for most, it is unlikely they will be able to begin driving before 18.
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